1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for making a cream cheese type product having the appearance, taste, consistency and texture of cream cheese and, more specifically, to a method for making an imitation cream cheese product having a fat content significantly below that of conventional cream cheese and of heretofore known imitation cream cheeses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, for health as well as cosmetic reasons, there has developed an increasing concern with diet which has focused on diets that reduce calorie and fat consumption. Low calorie foods which look and taste like their higher calorie counterparts have been eagerly sought by the public. To this end food researchers have concentrated on developing food products which are nutritious and palatable, but which contain substantially reduced levels of high calorie and/or fatty components. This is particularly true in the dairy industry where such low calorie, low fat products as skim milk, yoghurt, and the like have been successfully marketed. However, the high fat levels in some dairy products, such as cream cheese, have heretofore been thought to be necessary to maintain a desirable creamy mouth feel and to avoid the powdery, grainy mouth feel associated with prior low fat forms of cream cheese. As a result, those choosing to reduce their caloric or fat intake have usually omitted high fat dairy products, such as cream cheese, from their diets.
At least partially in response to the desire of the dieting public to continue to partake of these heretofore high fat dairy products, efforts have been made to develop imitation cream cheeses which contain reduced fat contents and, therefore, reduced calorie levels. Exemplary efforts in this regard are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,160,159 to Lundstedt et al. and 3,929,892 to Hynes et al. However, the fat content of the cheese products produced by the methods of these patents still exceeds about 10% fat, a content which is unacceptably high from the standpoint of those desiring or required to reduce their caloric or fat intake.
Moreover, some of these prior art methods require involved processing steps and/or impose ingredient standards which are unrealistically difficult or expensive to meet. For example, Hynes et al. describe a process for making an imitation cream cheese which involves difficult and/or expensive procedures such as successive heating steps, denaturation of serum proteins in the presence of casein to achieve the desired features of the therein described invention, and close ingredient control to achieve a prescribed level of lactose in the final product.